The Sacred Wolf
by ByrusFahn
Summary: The story of the Hyrule of Twilight Princess five years after the Twilight Crisis. Link has degraded into a recluse, but events happen that pull him out. He then finds out that the problem that caused his seclusion may not have been as solved as he thought. It seems that the problems dealt with in the original Twilight Crisis may not have been solved... (ART CREDITED TO kinokashi)
1. The Exposition

**Hello and welcome to any and all readers! I had a brief flash of inspiration, so I decided I would try my hand in writing a FanFiction! I do hope that you all enjoy this, although I will warn you; this story may not be for you if you disliked _The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess._**

**Now for the Disclaimer; I DO NOT own _The Legend of Zelda_ series (or any/all subsidiaries thereof), Nintendo DOES own _The Legend of Zelda_ (and any/all subsidiaries thereof). Any OCs involved in the story are my intellectual property. The cover art for this FanFiction series is credited to kinokashi at DeviantArt.**

* * *

**The Sacred Wolf: The Exposition**

_Come, children, and gather around me. I shall tell you a story of Hyrule's history; any requests? Hm? The Twilight Crisis again? Ah, but that is one that you have all heard many times, you need to remember the rest of history as well... instead I shall tell you a story in the same region and era as the Twilight Crisis, though it takes place five years later. Despite being of a similar nature to that of the Twilight Crisis in many aspects, this tale is should be quite intriguing to each of you._

* * *

It was a fine day. The skies possessed such a magnificent shade of blue that even the beautiful hue of Lake Hylia simply could not be compared; a perfect sapphire was not quite as stunning as the sky. There was a smattering of clouds across the blue canvas of a sky, but not clouds of the dark or dense sort. These clouds were so light and soft that they seemed as though one could simply lie down and sleep for all eternity on one. The weather was just cool enough to be comfortable while still being warm enough to spend all day outside without sweating or being uncomfortably warm. There was an exquisite breeze flowing through the trees, creating a peaceful rustling sound on occasion that put the mind to rest. It was on this day of exemplary weather that the villagers of Ordon Village were preparing for a feast. It was, to the very day, five years past the Twilight Crisis that had caused all of Hyrule so much trouble. The Twilight Crisis had affected the Ordona Province to such a point that all farms seemed to have been poisoned, and the rivers rent devoid of all life. Suffice it to say, there was no celebration in Ordon Village for years; the villagers were far too busy working to continue their meager existence for such frivolities. However, after four years, they had finally succeeded in the growing of crops in such a significant volume that they could afford to sell some and use some for a feast. As such, the Mayor of Ordon chose the fifth anniversary of the conclusion of the Twilight Crisis for their feast.

Now for the residents of the great Ordon Village. The Mayor was now Fado, the former rancher who tended Ordon Village's cattle. During the years following the Twilight Crisis, Fado quickly shaped up to match the challenges presented by the infertility of the land. Two years after the Twilight Crisis was ended by Link, the former Mayor Bo retired so he could better support Ilia and himself; he saw that Fado had improved from his formerly semi-lethargic and irresponsible state to become the very picture of an efficient worker. The elder Ordonians who were the only adults during the Twilight Crisis had changed quite a bit. Sera was still running her shop, although it did close down for a while during the recuperation period. Her husband, Hanch, became a much more caring father and more useful as a materials gatherer and farmer. Their daughter, Beth, also became quite an industrious young lady and became more calm and reserved than she had been before the Twilight Crisis. Pergie and Jaggle went through quite significant changes; Jaggle became slightly less apathetic while the village was coming back from the Crisis, though he did still skip work occasionally. Pergie became quite a bit sterner with their two boys, Talo and Malo. As a result of his mother's new-found rigidity, Talo further developed to become a rather better behaved young lad than he had been before the Twilight Crisis. Malo spent most of his time in Kakariko Village; his shop had prospered due to Link's efforts and the subsidiary of Malo Mart that had opened in Hyrule Castle Town (also thanks to Link). Some residents of Castle Town grew tired of city life and moved into Kakariko village, repairing and repopulating. Oddly enough, Kakariko Village seemed to suffer no adverse effects from the Twilight Crisis, so Malo further prospered. While he was a very entrepreneurial young man, Malo did send as much money as he could afford to the Ordonians to help keep them afloat. Rusl and Uli, the parents of Colin, never did change much at all; Rusl continued to be as hard a worker and a more vigilant a Village Guard than ever (although he may have come to taken his guard duties to an entirely new level). After giving birth to their daughter, who was designated the name Eosos, Uli proceeded to raise said daughter, which tended to take up most of her time; her husband had two jobs to attend to (working the fields with the other villagers and guarding the village) and her son was similarly occupied in the fields and as his father's apprentice of sorts. Colin did try to help out with his little sister when he could, which gave Uli some time to rest, but rest was not common for her, nor was it common for any of the villagers. Colin had grown the most out of any of the village young. With Link as his inspiration, he grew to be an honorable, courageous, hard-working individual, and exceptionally so in all aspects. When there was work to be done, one could be sure to see Colin doing it if he was not totally engaged elsewhere. And, thanks to the effort of all of the villagers, bar two, Ordon Village once more began to prosper after four years.

However, as was said before, there are two exceptions to the hardworking villagers. After the Crisis concluded, Link returned to Ordon Village, as I am sure that you all remember. But, despite the sheer glee of the villagers to see one of their most valued members return, Link's return was not a happy one. When he arrived at his house, the whole village awaited him; Jaggle had been loafing in his usual spot on top of the stone column and had seen Link approaching in the distance. To the great disappointment of the villagers, the only emotion they saw on his face was sorrow. Link proceeded to spend the rest of his time in his house, only leaving on rare occasion to make a trip to a destination unknown to the villagers. Colin and Ilia were the most affected by Link's dramatic change. Colin had come to consider Link to be his older brother; Colin respected him and looked up to him. Prior to the Twilight Crisis, Link and Ilia were quite close; had their relationship been allowed to develop uninhibited, they would have undoubtedly become a couple and been wed. However, due to Link's suddenly reclusive behavior, a stake was driven between them like a sword is driven into a bulblin with an Ending Blow. Ilia remained resolute to remove Link from his stupor for years, but gave up by the end of the third year post-Crisis. After that, she seemed to lose her will to participate in any form of society; she still worked the fields diligently, but was otherwise devoid of life. However, by the end of the fifth year, Ilia seemed to come back to life partially, in part due Talo and Beth steadfastly trying to bring Ilia back to her normal, lively, caring self.

After the events of the Twilight Crisis had concluded, Princess Zelda did send a Royal Messenger to Ordon Village that told the villagers that Link had been doing some work for the Royal Family of Hyrule, but nothing else. It had been decided by Zelda that the details of the events of the Twilight Crisis need not be shared with the common people; such information could cause a panic to ensue. As such, detailed information about the Twilight Crisis was confined to Link and Zelda.

* * *

Now, having filled you in on the state of the Ordona Province as it was at the beginning of our main story, I shall depict to you all the main events of our story next time we meet.

* * *

**Sorry for the lengthy exposition friends, but I find that this was necessary for me to be able to create a story with actual depths. Please leave a review or comment!**


	2. Chapter One: The Beginnings

**The Disclaimer; I DO NOT own _The Legend of Zelda_ series (or any/all subsidiaries thereof), Nintendo DOES own _The Legend of Zelda_ (and any/all subsidiaries thereof). Any OCs involved in the story are my intellectual property. The cover art for this FanFiction series is credited to kinokashi at DeviantArt.**

**_Hello to my few followers! I do apologize for taking so long to get this next chapter out, I was out of town for a field trip for quite a bit of last week. However, I do plan to be getting more chapters churned out for you all to enjoy. I do not have much time available still to write this next chapter, but I will get what I can done to let you all know that I am still working on this! Besides, the administrators of this website do not appreciate it when authors use chapters as an "Author's Note." Now, into this story we shall delve yet again!_**

**_EDIT:_**

**_Just as a side-note, bullbo are the bull-pig-boar things that you can ride around and smash the wooden structures up with in Twilight Princess. They are quite a bit of fun._**

**_Also, I am quite happy to have finished this chapter! I hope to keep this story updated once a week, but I doubt I will be able to keep up with that. I am heading into the last school quarter, and I have several teachers who love to pile up the work at this time of the year. However, I do ensure you that I will keep this an active project; whether that means planning, writing, or editing, I will keep working on this until I have finished the whole story and edited every last bug that I can find out, filled in every plot hole, and ensured quality throughout the story as a whole and every individual chapter._**

* * *

**The Sacred Wolf: The Beginnings**

_Gather now, children of the goddesses; it is time to continue our story. I have previously informed you of all that happened within the affairs of the Hylians since the Twilight Crisis was concluded. Now I shall tell you more of this story. Listen closely and you shall hear much..._

* * *

It was near the end of spring. Hyrule was on the very brink of summer, and the residents of the whole nation could feel it. The Ordonians, however could divine a little more about the coming summer than its imminence. Through their great experience through generations of dealing with weather and reading it to know just how to tend their crops, Ordonians had an inherent knack to sense weather; they could tell that this summer was going to be a great one with cool temperatures and amiable weather. Each and every resident of Ordon Village could tell this, bar one. Link. Having not payed attention to the weather in his state of acute regression, Link knew absolutely nothing of the weather; if one were to ask him for his thoughts on the weather, one would soon discover that, if Link even responded, he held no cares for the weather. The other residents of Ordon Village had long since realized that Link had fallen into depression deeper than Lake Hylia itself. This had quite the negative impact on their morale, even in the preparations of the celebratory feast. While the feast was celebrating the end of the horrors of the Twilight Crisis, it also served to further remind the Ordonians of that which was lost to the Twilight.

Colin had become a man of action; where one could find a problem, one would also be sure to find Colin working to solve it. While he certainly stacked many tasks upon himself, he also made sure to complete each undertaking before he moved on to another, and he made sure to do it right. As a result of his decisive nature and level head, Colin quickly became aware that Link's poor state was affecting the rest of the villagers. Unfortunately, Colin could not think of anything to break Link from his stupor; the villagers, particularly Ilia, had been trying for years, though they tended to not have much time to do so due to the amount of field work necessary to cultivate a sufficient amount of food to sustain the village. Incidentally, the village stores of meat had begun to run thin. Fado, the mayor, naturally decided to send somebody out to hunt for more meat. Knowing that Colin was reliably a man of action, Fado decided to send him on the aforesaid trip. While this may have seemed a typical chore to any other individual, Colin saw this as an opportunity to get Link to socialize, maybe even come back to the village as a member once more. As such, Colin chose to ask Link to assist in the hunt for prey. Colin chose to stop by Link's house on his way out of Ordon Village so as to give Link no opportunity to back out.

"Hmmm... I wonder if this will actually work," though Colin as he climbed up Link's ladder, "He hasn't actually said beyond grunts to any of us for years."

Once Colin reached the top of the ladder, he knocked on the door with three firm taps. Colin waited for the door to open...

And kept waiting...

And waited longer still...

Colin finally decided that he had waited long enough and proceeded to lay another five rapid raps upon the door. This time, he heard muffled sounds from inside the moss-coated tree house. The door suddenly opened, and quite the sight meets Colin's eyes. Link was wearing his trademark green tunic, though he noticeably lacked the cap, boots, and belt. After a few moments of Link glaring intensely at Colin, he promptly closed the door.

"Hey wait! I need your help!" Colin shouted at the door.

After a few moments Link opened the door again, although he had his belt on and seemed only mildly irritated and even slightly curious this time.

"The village is running out of meat, and I need to go hunting for it."

Link responded with only, "Oh?"

Colin froze for a second, realizing that this might take a bit more work than he had previously thought.

"Yeah. I'm kinda no good at hunting, but all of the others are busy. Could you help me? I could really use some help in learning how."

Link proceeded to stare intensely at Colin for quite a long period of time.

...

...

The crickets seemed awfully loud...

...

...

The wind in the trees seemed like a horde of bullbo charging...

...

After the two remaining like this for quite the long time, Link finally moved; quite to Colin's relief, too.

The door slammed shut, separating the two once more.

After several seconds, the fact that the door had closed, and that Link was not outside of it, finally registered. At this, Colin quite visibly sighed in disappointment, though certainly not resignation.

However, just before Colin struck the door again, the door opened once more, and Link appeared. He was fully dressed in his symbolic clothing, had his bow and quiver slung across his back, his Ordon Sword sheathed on his back, and his Ordon Shield slung over it all. Link also wore an expression that was not quite a saddening as his usual; he seemed to feel as though he had been challenged, and that he could not back down from said challenge. The best description for Link's expression on that day may be defiance mixed with pride, but nonetheless tinged with a certain despair that seemed to be perpetually present in the man's soul.

As he took this all in, Colin was standing there with his hand poised to knock on the now open door, shocked to see Link so quickly ready to go, in terms of both physical and mental preparation. After a few moments, Colin realized that he was wasting valuable time and proceed to smile and nod his thanks to Link and descend from the natural terrace that was formed by the tree. As they two men left the village and continued into the forest, Colin continued to keep an eye on Link's unique countenance. It fascinated him that this man could be experiencing so many emotions at once; the previously mentioned feelings were the most apparent, but, only upon closer inspection, it became clear that Link was feeling so much more than what was on the surface. There seemed to be melancholy, an ardent attentiveness, and even a vague, suppressed happiness. The happiness was suppressed in such a way that one might have thought that the man believed that he did not deserve it, as though he had yet to earn it. Colin could see this through Link's repeated smiles being torn down by the same man as though he would be scorned for showing them. This odd characteristic of Link's emotions brought Colin to wonder just what happened to make Link think that he had no right to happiness.

Suddenly, Link froze and grabbed Colin's shoulder. A split-second later, Link shoved Colin to the side as Link dove the opposite direction. Colin could hear something fly past them and promptly realize that something was attacking them. While Colin had no combat experience at all, he could tell that whatever had been shot at them came from what was previously their front. As such, Colin wisely deemed it appropriate to stay behind the tree that he had fallen behind. However, he knew better than to relax at this point and remained attentive for any signs that he was in further danger.

Meanwhile, Link had pulled out his bow and notched an arrow as well as grabbed several extras in the hand holding the bow. Whatever had shot at them had continued to keep up the fire, holding Link in place.

"It seems that his combat skills are as sharp as ever..." Colin thought to himself.

Suddenly, Link dove to the side and stood perfectly erect. At this point, Colin noticed that Link had no trouble holding his bow perfectly taught. Whereas most individuals would have trouble even getting his bow fully stretched, much less holding it there, Link had his bowstring fully extended and held the arm that he extended forward perfectly still.

"His strength has apparently not changed either" Continued Colin, though still mentally.

As Link shot, only a fraction of a second after he stood up, he dove behind a different tree than the one that he had left the cover of.

"Is it safe?" Colin whispered.

The response came with several seconds of delay, "... yes."

"What was it?" inquired Colin.

Colin knew quite well that Link had not gone beyond grunts and yes/no answers since his return after the conclusion of the Twilight Crisis. However, he also knew that Link would never go beyond these single-word answers if he was not both given the opportunity and pressed to do so.

"Bulblin."

Colin's thoughts went as follows: "Oh. Well then. I guess I can't expect him to improve that quickly. I certainly seem to have my work cut out for me..."

* * *

**_I do apologize for only having half of this done so far, but school has been crazy lately! I should have more added to this tomorrow; with some luck I may even finish this._**

**_EDIT:_**

**_I am quite delighted to say that this chapter is now finished, and I believe that this has given me a much better idea on how to write dialogue. Thank you all for reviews, reads, and likes!_**


	3. Chapter Two: The Omens

**The Disclaimer; I DO NOT own _The Legend of Zelda_ series (or any/all subsidiaries thereof), Nintendo DOES own _The Legend of Zelda_ (and any/all subsidiaries thereof). Any OCs involved in the story are my intellectual property. The cover art for this FanFiction series is credited to kinokashi at DeviantArt.**

**Hello to my readers! I do apologize for the comparatively extended break between chapters; my spring break was last week, and I simply find the time or inspiration to write the next portion of this tale. I must say, though rather reluctantly, that it could be quite a while before the next chapter after this as well. It seems that my mother will be constantly at work these coming days, and that means that there will be considerably more work around the house for me to take on. I do apologize for the inconvenient wait, which I do hope that you all find rather tantalizing; that would mean that I am doing this writing properly! Seriously though, sorry for the long waits, my summer break is not far away; I should be getting a comparably large amount of work out then. If any of you readers find my work particularly entrancing or absorbing and happen to have ideas for possible plot events, please do PM me with them! If I end up using or being significantly inspired by any suggestions, I will give the appropriate person(s) credit in the chapter associated. _Now, into this story we shall delve yet again!_**

* * *

**The Sacred Wolf: The Omens**

_Now, my children; it seems that the time has come to continue the telling of this particular tale. I have told you of how all that had come to be had come to be in the beginning of the Terminal Catastrophe. I shall now tell you more of what transpired in these days of hope and darkness, so pay attention, lest you miss something..._

* * *

The night was bright, though only as bright as a night may get. The stars were shining with a splendorous brilliance that seemed to declare them as royalty among stars. And while the stars were shining with all their intensity, the moon put out such a powerful light that when one was walking through the forest, they would subconsciously swerve to avoid the moonbeams as though they were solid light. It was the day preceding this resplendent night that Colin and Link had set out on their mission for meat, encountering a lone bulblin in the process. When night fell, they were deep in the woods; as such, the two chose to make a camp and light a fire, cooking up some of the meat they had hunted for. While the smoke from the fire drifted lazily up through the canopy, Colin and Link sat by the fire in complete silence.

"I wonder what he is thinking about, he seems pretty focused. I can't remember the last time I saw him move..." Colin thought. "That bulblin attack was intense. I felt so afraid, I thought I was going to die! How does he do it? How can he face danger with such steeliness? Wait... a bulblin? Why didn't I realize this earlier?!"

At this point, Colin broke the seemingly oppressive silence, "Link, weren't all of the bulblin and their kind cleared out by the Hylian guard after the Twilight Crisis?"

"Yes."

"Then why was there one in the forest? I remember that the guards were especially thorough in clearing out Ordona Province since we are farmers..."

"..."

Silence was the only response that Colin received, which seemed to be even more sound-suppressing than before, at which point Colin deemed it wise to drop the point. After all, what problem could a single bulblin pose?

As the two sat by the fire, time continued to pass, and the time got later and later.

After an extended amount of time, Colin began to nod off, slowly falling into a slumber. As Colin began to sink down, he shook himself awake, not wanting to fall asleep at the time. Colin glanced over at Link to see if he had reacted to Colin's nearly falling asleep.

"..."

Colin continued to gaze into the fire, still trying to fight the oncoming sleep.

"Sleep" came the second word from Link that night.

"Are you sure? I can help keep watch!"

"Sleep."

"Alright then..." Colin sighed in defeat, knowing fully well that there would be no resisting Link's stoic presence.

Colin proceed to lay down on the ground with his bag under his head and shut his eyes, attempting to calm his mind after the day's events.

...

...

Colin began to wonder if he could calm his thoughts enough to achieve sleep...

...

...

Suddenly, Colin opened his eyes, decided that sleep would not be found like this. However, what he opened his eyes to was quite a shock. The sky, black and lined with bright stars and a moon when he had lain down to sleep, had become blood red with foreboding clouds of a deep crimson hanging overhead. Where he had once been in a lively forest filled with vivid greenery, all he could see for miles around were flaming stumps of trees and crumbled remnants of buildings. He heard the roar of a seemingly fearsome and massive beast in the far distance and realized that this was some post-apocalyptic realm to which some horrible calamity had fallen. Abruptly, the decimated terrain blurred and faded. As the world began to clear up, Colin saw that he was no longer in the disaster-struck fields. This time the sky was a mix of deep purples, blacks, and almost painfully bright golden yellows. There were a multitude of floating rocks with carved tops in the area, and the place that he was standing seemed to match the other islands. However, while the others had bridges connected them, this one was isolated from the rest. He heard a voice that seemed to come from everywhere around him, and yet from only within his mind. It seemed to be silky and smooth, yet rough and coarse simultaneously; it was light and feminine while also deep and masculine. A truly unique voice, the nature of its owner was indistinguishable.

"Those fields of destruction, those crumbled ruins; that is the path that your world is set for. Act swiftly, and you may yet save yourselves..."

"Who are you?!" Colin shouted into the darkness, hoping to provoke some response.

"An old friend... an old nemesis... only one would remember."

"Who would? Tell me!"

"This one is awake and alive, and yet has long since passed to slumber... Go now, and return to your own realm!"

On the last words, the voice solidified behind him. As he turned around though, he did manage to glimpse the figure behind him; all he could make out before all detail and pattern faded were draping robes and a large helmet...

* * *

**Sorry for the time that this chapter took, and for the minimal length of it! I have been horribly busy these past few days. Between having to write a speech and biking to an undisclosed location several miles away and back, I have been unable to write much more. I would have liked to put more in this chapter, but I reached the optimal stopping point much sooner than I would have liked. Unfortunately, I could not have extended this much more without inserting pointless text that rambles and bores the reader. I should be able to get more work done on this story soon, but my schedule seems to be heinously unpredictable. Until next time then, my readers!**


	4. Chapter Three: Captured! Again

**The Disclaimer; I DO NOT own _The Legend of Zelda_ series (or any/all subsidiaries thereof), Nintendo DOES own _The Legend of Zelda_ (and any/all subsidiaries thereof). Any OCs involved in the story are my intellectual property. The cover art for this FanFiction series is credited to kinokashi at DeviantArt.**

**Hello to my followers and readers! I do apologize (yet again) for the long delay; it seems that when the schedule of my fellow family members gets busy I am rendered incapable of accomplishing the completion of a chapter for this story. I will be having final exams in school soon, so my writings will either come more frequently, or not at all. However, as soon as June arrives, I will be essentially free most days to get work done here. I will be entirely honest here; I probably will not work on this story most days when that time comes. Incidentally, I had originally intended on making this a story with a great many chapters, but I am finding that I have set myself up poorly for that. On a similar note, I have put up a poll on my profile page that I would greatly appreciate it if you vote on. It should only take you a matter of minutes and it would assist me greatly if you would each vote in it. I would like to know what the majority of my readers would like to see in my next story series, but I will make sure to finish this story first, so do not worry about me dropping one project for another! I simply would like to avoid having a period of time where I am waiting to see what you all would like. The poll is at the top of my profile page, directly under my username in big text and above my profile picture; you must click on "Vote Now!" in order to see the full survey. Any participation is appreciated! _Now, into this story we shall delve yet again!_**

* * *

**The Sacred Wolf: Captured! Again...**

_Now children, settle and listen, for I shall begin the next chapter of our tale. When we last paused, Colin's vision had faded during his dream, and we shall naturally pick up the story from there. Hush now and make your attention rapt, our tale is continuing..._

* * *

As Colin woke from his dream, he thought:

"What the heck kind of dream was that? A vision? A message?"

However, his thoughts were struck down promptly by an impressively raucous cacophony.

Colin thought, "It sounds like a horde of giant boars are stampeding through our camp!" just before his eyes opened.

This thought was, surprisingly enough, a rather accurate guess at the truth; upon opening his eyes, Colin realized that there were several bullbo prancing about, as gracefully as a large pig can get, in circles in their camp. At first, Colin could not figure out just what it was they were circling, or why. However, upon looking closer, he realized that the bullbo has bulblin riders that were slashing at the center of their collective attention, which explained why the bullbo were able to manage not to collide with each other when bullbo tended to be rather wild and unpredictable. He further realized that he should probably not be standing out in the open like he was. If the bulblin had not been so focused on whatever it was that they were so intently circling and slashing at, Colin would surely have been noticed by now. Promptly dropping to the ground and scrambling behind a tree and into some bushes, he positioned himself so that he could see the bullbo and bulblins without them noticing him.

"I wonder where Link is... he is certainly fine, but I still worry." Colin thought.

Intently watching the clash of unknown nature in his former camp, Colin began to get brief glimpses of the figure in the middle of the great hoofed monsters. He realized that the garb of the figure in the center of the conflict was of a green coloration and that he was holding a sword in its left hand with a shield on its right arm.

"Oh. There he is. Naturally." Colin remarked quietly.

Colin was not surprised in the least that Link happened to be in the center of the battle. Thinking back to when Link was informed that some of the children had strayed too far into the woods and charged in without hesitation, Colin was not surprised in the least that Link had ended up distracting all of the bulblin from Colin. Although he briefly considered diving into the fray to help Link, Colin knew quite well that he would only get in Link's way; while he was a proficient hunter, Colin had no combat skill with a blade, such as the knife he kept on his person. While Colin may have been able to help if he had a bow and arrows, he knew that he was not so proficient as to be sure not to hit Link by mistake; this would also attract attention to himself, which would defeat the purpose of Link's endeavor's. Colin knew that Link was consciously protecting him because Link could easily escape the bullbo in these woods; these trees were older than Hyrulian civilization itself, they would not be knocked down by something as comparatively small as the bullbo.

Colin began to think, "I wonder if Link will be able to fight them all off like this..."

In terms of Colin's view of the fight, his perspective from his new position gave him a much clearer view of what was going on. He counted four bullbo; while each bullbo had probably originally had two bulblin each, only two of them had two riders while the other two had only one. The bullbo were apparently well trained and the front riders were surprisingly skilled; those bulblin who were controlling the bullbo could easily use a single arm to control the beast while they held clubs in the other. The back riders both held bows that utilized fire arrows and were apparently talented enough to shoot from the back of a constantly moving bullbo. To be succinctly clear, the bullbo were at a run while circling, though not a full charge. While Link was certainly agile enough to dodge each shot they made, or at least block it, they were still making it uncomfortably close. Link somehow managed to block every blow that was thrown by the drivers as well, which is quite a feat, considering that he was surrounded by moving attackers.

"He certainly seems to be holding his own!" Colin exclaimed, though not too quietly.

Meanwhile, a shadow shrouded figure approached Colin from behind, although neither being noticed the other; both were rather focused on the fight going on in the clearing.

Suddenly, Link slashed out at one of the two remaining archers; the bulblin that he hit had an arrow nocked and the string fully pulled back, though the arrow was not yet aimed at Link. As such the arrow went flying; directly into the flank of the bullbo opposite of the previously living archer bulblin. The bullbo that had been hit, which only had a driver riding it, promptly screamed out in rage and the driver lost control, merely hanging on desperately; to be thrown off surely meant that it would be trampled. The bullbo, blinded by rage and pain, ran straight into one of the single-rider bullbo. Both bullbos fell and lay totally still; it seemed that they either killed one another or knocked each other unconscious. Their bulblin riders had been crushed underneath them, and their bodies promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke in the way that is normal for the forces of darkness, as did one of the bullbo, showing that one of them had indeed been killed, likely speared by the other's tusks.

This left Link with a single-rider bullbo and a double-rider bullbo to deal with. The two remaining bullbos were maneuvered to be on opposite sides of Link, still circling him in the same manner. Moments after the single-rider bullbo passed his left side, heading across his front, Link leapt forward with his sword prepped and ready to destroy the bullbo's rider as it passed in front of him; Link landed on top of the bullbo and promptly thrust his sword directly through the back of the driver's head; as the body disappeared into smoke, Link grabbed the reins of the bullbo and directed it towards the other bullbo. Before the other bullbo riders realized it, they were a split second away from slamming into the other bullbo, although they never had the chance to.

A second earlier, Link had launched himself from his appropriated bullbo and performed what would come to be known as a Double Helm Splitter; as he soared over the heads of the two riders, he stuck out at each of them and scored a hit on each of their heads, dispatching them both. The bullbo also slammed into each other, providing instant death via massively sever head trauma; between the force of the hit provided by their great momentum and the lack of yielding of either body, neither stood a chance of survival. Link, having known exactly where Colin was the entire time due to naturally acute senses sharpened by his journey during the Twilight Crisis and general attentiveness, proceeded to go to where Colin had hidden.

But Colin was not there.

He found naught but a jumble of footprints, crushed shrubbery, and some hoof prints of an unusually large bullbo.

* * *

**I am terribly sorry for the several week delay, and for the short chapter, the intensity of how hectic my life has been lately reached a critical point; horrendously intense, but also only lasted a brief amount of time. My schedule, although I have exams soon, is much less crowded now. As such I should be able to put out longer chapters in more volume soon. Also, something I would like to note for any readers that I have had since I wrote the exposition, I have added into the exposition that the actual events of Link's crusade were kept confidential, so the villagers, nor anyone else, were ever told about what actually happened in the Twilight Crisis. I do apologize for being so late with this detail; I am quite new to writing. Please do leave a review or comment and visit the poll on my profile page!**

**EDIT:**

**I would like to thank the reviewer that posted as Amanda for the helpful advice provided; the edits made have brought this chapter to be far better spaced and much easier to read as a direct result! I will be keeping the supplied advice in mind from here on out!**


	5. Chapter Four: The Captive

**Hello all! My deepest apologies for being so late with this chapter, I understand that some have become a little worried over the status of the project. Worry not, for this project is nowhere near dead; I am posting this chapter in part as proof of that. Life for me has been rather off kilter these past two weeks, but I am back in action!**

**Also, I had previously decided to form a section in which I will mention anybody who happens to hold a high standing in relation to this project; these are people to whom I am grateful to for any of a variety of reasons. This section will be henceforth entitled "Acknowledgments."**

**Acknowledgments:  
****Amanda  
FaolanLupa  
Skuldette**

**I would also like to draw the attention of all readers to three things; FaolanLupa's works, a Legend of Zelda RP forum, and the forum topic for this story. I have read FaolanLupa's stories; while they could certainly be improved (after all, what couldn't?), they are truly interesting stories; I would hope that if more people read them and, hopefully commented, FaolanLupa would continue them and improve them, they have immense potential. A PM was sent to me a while back about a Legend of Zelda RP forum, and I promised to mention it in one of my chapters. I meant to a long while back, but kept forgetting to. I am not one for RPing myself, but any of you who are should check it out at (forum/Legend-of-Zelda-Legend-of-a-Team/176368/). Now, about the forum topic for this story. It has come to my attention that reviews are limited to one per user; way to work around that is to post it without using an account; instead, I have set up a forum topic for this story under the forum I set up for general suggestions. I have my forum set up at (forum/About-ByrusFahn-s-Stories/177790/). If you have any suggestions for this story, or for a different one that you think I should write, please visit this forum.**

**The Disclaimer; I DO NOT own The Legend of Zelda series (or any/all subsidiaries thereof), Nintendo DOES own The Legend of Zelda (and any/all subsidiaries thereof). Any OCs involved in the story are my intellectual property. The cover art for this FanFiction series is credited to kinokashi at DeviantArt.**

* * *

_Come now, little ones. It is time to continue with the oration of the Terminal Catastrophe; the story has only just begun..._

* * *

As Link was observing the traces of Colin being taken, Colin himself was being taken quite a distance away. The speed they were moving at was tremendous and made for a painfully bumpy ride. Fortunately for Colin, he was too busy being unconscious to notice.

After travelling through forest, plain, and desert alike, they finally reached their destination, although Colin had yet to wake. Colin was thrown in a dark room with a sand floor and rough wooden walls and ceiling for company. Throughout all of this, Colin remained unaware of what was happening near him. However, to simply say that he was not aware would be a mistake; while all this happened, he was seeing something else entirely, something he did not understand...

He was in a dark cell. The air smelled of damp and filth. He could see stone walls, a high ceiling, and iron bars that formed one of the four walls. There were few objects in the cell, only a crate and a stack of old, moist straw. Additionally, there seemed to be a large wolf asleep on the floor.

"What is going on? Why I am here, and what is with this wolf?" Colin pondered.

As Colin watched, the wolf began to wake; it promptly realized that it was chained to the floor by one of its front legs.

At this realization, the wolf proceeded to run frantically about, striving in vain to reach anything in the cell that could assist in its escape. It, with a similar goal, also tried to chew its chains off, which naturally failed.

Suddenly, without warning, the wolf tensed, and suddenly turned to stare directly at Colin.

"Ah! What do you want?!" Colin cried out, fearing what this wolf could do to him.

However, the wolf did not seem to react to Colin's words, but continued to stare.

Suddenly, a small, imp-like creature with a large helmet jump-flipped over him, and landed on the other side of the wolf. The wolf continued to track the imp the entire time, totally ignoring Colin.

Upon landing, the imp shouted out in some strange language, "I found you!"

Colin came to realize a few things at this, which he immediately exclaimed for the world to hear, although only he could hear it.

"They can't see me! They don't even know that I am here! Am I actually here though? And how did I understand that imp girl?"

Through his epiphanies, the imp had continued the conversation; the wolf had promptly begun growling at her in addition to taking a defensive stance, so the conversation was not completely one-sided.

"Oooh! Aren't you scary! Eee hee! Are you sure you want to be doing that? Snarling and glaring at me?"

The wolf continued snarling and glaring at her regardless.

"Well, that's too bad..."  
"I was planning on helping you... if you were nice."

At this, the wolf promptly stopped its snarling and glaring and perked up considerably, though it still seemed perturbed.

"Eee hee! That's much better! You humans are obedient to a fault, aren't you?"  
"Oops! But you AREN'T a human anymore, are you? You're a beast! Eee hee!"

Upon her last words, the imp tapped the wolf under its jaw rather roughly, which naturally seemed to tick off the wolf. The wolf snarled and bit at the imp, which caused her to jump a small distance away with a giggle. Apparently, she felt that this wolf posed no danger to her.

Colin quickly caught on: "Wait, so that wolf was human once?"

The picture before him seemed to freeze, with the wolf glaring grumpily at the imp, who was standing just far enough away to remain out of the chained canine's reach.

"Wait, what happened?! Why did it stop?!" exclaimed Colin.

A voice appeared behind him: "Because I made it so."

"What? How can you just stop time?" Colin turned around as he spoke, but saw nothing but a stone wall.

"This is naught but a memory, a recording of what has been." The spectral voice rang throughout the area.

Colin became fed up with the mystery.

"Who are you? Show yourself!"

"I am the one who has spoken to you before. I am the ruler of a realm forgotten."

"And you name?"

"That, young one, is not something that you can know yet. You must first learn what has been, then you will be ready for what is now."

At this, the scene proceeded to play, but at a much faster pace. Despite this, Colin was still able to hear and understand every word that was said. He watched as the wolf and imp seemed to strike a deal, and the wolf was revealed as male; he watched as the wolf escaped his cell and climbed a tower. He watched as the wolf and imp approached a robed figure. However, at this, the memory froze once more; the mysterious being, gender disguised by the fact that the voice seemed to exist everywhere and could be described by sound by no specifics.

"This is as far as you should go for now; you are needed elsewhere. Remember what you have learned and be ready to learn more."

"Wait, what?! I am ready now! Show me more!"

"No," the unidentified being responded, "You are not."

* * *

**Sorry about the long overdue chapter! As an addition to the disclaimer, I would like to state that yes, I did copy Midna's and Wolf Link's interactions from the cell scene as precisely from the game as I could; they are NOT my work, they belong to Nintendo (Colin and our mystery being were not in the game, that part is my work, although I do not own Colin, nor do I own the mystery being). Sorry for the shorter chapter, I am planning on putting more chapters out with more, or at least more reliable, frequency. Please leave me reviews, I am not terribly sure about this chapter, so feedback will be doubly appreciated!**


	6. Chapter Five: The Rescuer

**My humble and apologetic greetings to you all! I am terribly sorry that it took me this long to get back to this story; nigh on three months is a rather long time to wait for something you want. I have no excuses this time, I am simply a lazy idiot. However, the school year has started back up again; this means work is a lot less formidable to my mind. I will PROBABLY be getting more chapter out again, but we all know what happens when I make promises. I would appreciate it if any who happen to notice a decrease in the quality of my work comment on it in a review. It has been three months since I have last written like this, so I may be a tad out of practice. Here goes nothing!**

**The Disclaimer; I DO NOT own The Legend of Zelda series (or any/all subsidiaries thereof), Nintendo DOES own The Legend of Zelda (and any/all subsidiaries thereof). Any OCs involved in the story are my intellectual property. The cover art for this FanFiction series is credited to kinokashi at DeviantArt.**

**Acknowledgments:  
****Amanda  
FaolanLupa  
Skuldette**

* * *

_Gather young ones, gather 'round. Our tale has but only just begun, so let us continue in the telling of this fine tale of the History of Light and Shadow..._

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

Colin wondered whose scream it was reverberating through the air in such a way that woke him up. Suddenly, he realized that it was the scream of none other than himself. He wondered what he was doing on a sand floor in a wooden room. Suddenly, everything came back to him; the stealth attack by giant boars (how did they manage that?!), the boss of the gang sneaking up on him, and his capture. He remembered quite clearly the pain that was tossed upon him like a hot coal placed in a prisoner's mouth by a torturer when he was slammed in the side of the head by a massive club. He wondered how it was that he even survived that blow, much less retained consciousness. He remembered being tied up and tossed on the boar like a bundle of sticks promptly before the boar set off away from the fight. The unbearable pain in his skull was only aggravated by the constant bouncing caused by the boar's great galumphs. When unconsciousness came, it was welcome.

Colin rose from the ground, intending to search his cell in hopes of finding escape.

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

Only one who has felt pain so intense that it seems to block out their senses can truly comprehend how Colin felt in those moments. As soon as he rose, unholy pain flooded his nerves like lava over the ocean, the source seeming to be the right side of his head. He found himself wondering once more whose scream it was that rang so painfully in his ears, the answer to which he realized several minutes later.

"I hope that this pain fades soon..." Colin thought, though even this simple task seemed to bring waves of pain.

Wishing that he could simply return to the realm of dreams, the fact that he had dreams before he had recently woken coming back to mind. However, the simple act of thinking was becoming painful, so he decided to simply rest for the time being.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pulsing pain pouring through his body that emanated from his head began to fade, although it faded so terribly slowly that he almost did not notice the change.

When enough time passed for Colin to be able to think without searing pain, he began to wonder once more what he was doing here, much less where "here" was.

Upon that thought, Colin did his best to look around without moving, realizing that even though he could think safely enough again, moving was probably still unwise. From his limited observations, Colin gleaned that his cell was outside, which he could tell from the sunlight streaming in from four directions. However, he could learn nothing beyond what he already knew; his cell was built outside, made of wood, and had no distinct floor.

Colin was only vaguely aware of the passage of time; he was aware that it was passing, but only to the extent that one is aware a tree is growing as it is being observed.

Suddenly, Colin realized that his eye lids seemed quite heavy. Furthermore, he realized that all light had left the room; it was night. He decided to simply close his eyes and accept the inevitable sleep.

Colin's sleep was fitful and restless. He dreamt of small goblin-like figures with clubs charging across a field towards a castle. He watched as lizard-men and dark knights in shadowy armor directed the rabble of otherwise unorganized goblins towards distant crowds of soldiers. When the armies clashed, it seemed as a wave of pure spring water meeting a flood of fetid fluid. At first it seemed quite certain that the soldiers would be overwhelmed immediately. However, they seemed to hold their ground well enough; their ranks did not budge in the face of the onslaught, and few of their number fell. Unfortunately, such was not the way the situation would remain.

Several portals opened up in the sky, and black beasts of the shadows fell out and landed within the ranks of the soldiers. Evil creatures of the air brought more of the foul beast in to the battlefield. These dread beasts tore through the ranks of castle troops like a searing needle piercing through flesh. It seemed to the casual observer that all was lost for the soldiers. Despite the pure evil, even in the face of the sheer terror presented by the beasts within their ranks, the soldiers somehow remained disciplined and reformed their ranks; they left troops facing the main army and placed others to surround the beasts.

With this new formation, the castle soldiers corralled the beasts together with the tips of spears and lances. Realizing that the beasts were in danger, the dark army surged again, this time with the lizard-men and dark knights led the charge from the front; this tactic was admittedly reckless, but it was effective nonetheless. The soldiers were pushed back several feet, their ranks not able to withstand the onslaught without detriment; many soldiers along the line were lost to the renewed vigor of the monsters. Yet again, it seemed as though the soldiers were in dire straits.

As this was occurring, Colin was watching the whole situation from above, as though he was floating like a cloud. Before the battle progressed any further, a bright flash of light abruptly blinded Colin's view of the structured chaos and woke him from what he was not quite aware was a dream. When Colin opened his eyes, more chaos there to greet him.

Upon looking around, he realized that the bright flash that woke him was daylight. The sunlight that woke him had filled the room; Colin realized at this that the light was not streaming through the windows; it was flooding through what used to be a wall! At this, Colin suddenly jumped to his feet. Immediately regretting his decision, Colin winced in preparation for the oncoming storm of pain. Contrary to his expectations, only a mild sense of pain flowed from his skull, an amount that was certainly quite easy to bear.

Pleased with his recovered ability to move without experiencing horrible pain, Colin took a quick look around the room. He saw that the other three walls were perfectly fine, but the wall that had been knocked down was totally decimated. While doing so, he heard the unmistakable sounds of combat from outside the room. Looking out the vast open area that was once a wall, Colin saw a figure silhouetted in the blinding light. Several moments late, after his eyes had adjusted to the bright light outside, Colin got a considerably better look at the being outside his cell.

It was a grey wolf, streaked with white. Its ears has a blue earring put through the back of each ear. On its forehead was an intricate design that looked something like a diamond with a circle in it and a dot in the center of the circle, with the diamond on top of a long streak that came down between its eyes and to a point halfway down its muzzle. The fur on its head and neck stuck back and up a tad in long clumps. The tail on the wolf seemed to be smooth and hard, almost like flexible steel. Its eyes were a vibrant blue that seemed to reach into the depths of one's soul. The wolf's figure was lean, but clearly quite muscular. Above all else, the wolf was quite large, big enough to be a small horse.

While Colin's instincts instantly told him to run for his life, despite the fact that this wolf was blocking his only escape route, some aspect of the creature told Colin that he was safe with it. Nonetheless, Colin could not prevent the most obvious question from coming from his mouth:

"What in the name of the goddesses are you?!"

* * *

**I am terribly sorry about the several nights it took me when I promised the finished chapter in one! Figuratively speaking, I hit a block that took me a while to figure out how to get around. Also, just to be clear; no, I did NOT forget about Colin's dream/vision in the previous chapter, this is NOT a discontinuity, I am PROBABLY NOT an idiot. If you do not remember, I strongly recommend you check back; I do understand that it has been quite some time since I posted chapter four. Anyway, please do leave me reviews and tell me how you liked it! If you have suggestions, recommendations, or requests, feel free to PM me or mention it in a review!**


	7. Chapter Six: The Hunt

**Hello all! I am back once more, and this time not quite as long after the last chapter! This time, I have only now actually had a clue as to what to write for this chapter, otherwise I would have written it sooner. So, without further ado, here is the disclaimer!**

**The Disclaimer; I DO NOT own The Legend of Zelda series (or any/all subsidiaries thereof), Nintendo DOES own The Legend of Zelda (and any/all subsidiaries thereof). Any OCs involved in the story are my intellectual property. The cover art for this FanFiction series is credited to kinokashi at DeviantArt.**

**Acknowledgments:****  
Amanda  
FaolanLupa  
Skuldette**

* * *

_Now, young ones, let us commence with the story. However, we will not be continuing whence we last ended. We will be returning to the first crossroad of this story; the scuffle in which Colin was taken while Link was busy fighting. It is from that point that I shall now tell a separate, yet entwined, part of the story._

* * *

It was a dreary day. Not one part of the world seemed to convey so much as a remotely pleasant feeling. The trees seemed to loom overhead, reaching for the sky above. The bushes seemed to grab and scratch at all who passed. The grass crunching underfoot alluded to brittle bones cracking and shattering under pressure. The sky was a grey sheet over the body of the world. The wind sounded as though Hyrule itself was screaming in agony.

Through this sickening atmosphere, a lone rider made his way through the forest atop a horse larger than any other. Clothed in a drab green and riding a large brown horse with a white mane, this man was clearly Link and he was riding Epona. As he rode through the forest, his face set in a cold, steely anger, the flora of the forest seemed to be trying to drag him into the misery it conveyed. The trees seemed to reach out to grab hold of him, their roots placed solely to impede his progress. Nonetheless, Link pushed Epona on, thundering between trees and over rivers.

While a casual observer might have thought him to simply be riding madly through the forest without particular aim, he was following tracks like a hound. The path was clear enough to a trained hunter such as him; a crushed bush here, a couple of prints there, even a few trees with bark torn from one side. He followed this trail as though he would die if he did not make it to the source immediately. It was only natural; he was following the tracks made by one who could only have been the King Bulblin himself, and he had Colin.

Mind fully devoted to following the trail, Link paid little attention to anything or anyone else around him. It was not terribly uncommon for him to ride straight through a Hyrulian patrol as they stared at him with a mixture of confusion, terror, and anger. While this did allow him to follow the tracks without failure or mistake, it also left him completely unaware.

As he plowed along the winding trail left behind by the immense bulblin and bullbo, Link failed to notice the he was being followed as well. The figure could be best described as ethereal; it was constantly shifting in shape and almost translucent. It was of a dark golden color, one that immediately imbues the viewer with a sense of foreboding. It seemed to be able to move many times the speed of Epona, for it was able to keep up with Epona without any apparent trouble. More so, it was catching up with Link.

Even as the intangible mass drifted closer to Link, he stayed totally focused and oblivious to the mysterious presence. The figure slowly drifted closer, and closer still. All this time, Link remained unaware of its presence.

Abruptly, the mass surged forward! At this, Link noticed that Epona seemed to have begun to run from something, rather than to something. At this he turned around, and saw. He saw an immense wave of shimmering mass, rolling at him with a speed of a magnitude greater that its size. Realizing that there was imminent danger, his hands immediately drew forth his sword and shield. Link no longer had hands on the reins, but Epona knew well enough to run away as fast as she possibly could, and Link was well aware of his steed's intelligence.

As the mass came closer, Link chanced a slash at it; the material simply flowed around the edge of the blade without so much as brushing it. Link's eyes widened in surprise and fury. Knowing perfectly well that his shield would be of no use at that, and his sword of less use, he returned both tools to his back. Realizing that he was running out of time, he quickly ran through a list of his equipment: his sword and shield, both useless; his bow, which would not be of use unless he had a specific target; and his boomerang. Quickly realizing that he had no weapons that would be of use, Link decided that running would be his only chance. He suddenly remembered the power that the Spirits of the Lakes possessed; maybe if he could reach the Faron Lake in time...

Link took a quick look at his surroundings. He quickly saw that he was not far from the lake. Upon this epiphany, Link placed his only hope of escape. At this, he promptly spurred Epona directly towards the valley that contained the lake.

Once Link and his pursuer were in the valley, Link peeked behind him to check how far the mass was. It was naught but a few horse-lengths behind him; Link knew it was going to be close.

Suddenly, Link rounded the corner in the valley; Faron Lake was in sight now. However, the mass appeared to gain a sudden surge of speed; it launched forward and knocked Link off Epona. Epona just kept on running, for she was so panicked in her fear of the pursuer that she had not noticed her rider being dismounted.

When Link hit the ground, he rolled back to his feet and drew forth his sword and shield once more. Despite the knowledge that the sword would be useless and, considering the fact that this creature seemed to be able to move as liquid, his shields would be useless as well, Link drew comfort and courage from having the weapon and tool in hand.

However, instead of simply collapsing in on Link as he had expected, the mass simply maintained its form and position, although it was still undulating about like waves on water. As Link prepared to attack, for lack of a better plan, it abruptly pulsed; the whole being seemed to resonate with power and glowed with it as well. The pulsing continued. It was speeding up. It kept getting faster. Suddenly, the mass stopped; it totally froze in all motion. However, Link still heard the pulses of power; they seemed to come from him however, not the creature surrounding him. Link felt a piercing pain in his skull; it felt as though his head were trying to change shape. The pain spread to all of his bones, and many of his muscles as well. However, nothing seemed to be changing. The creature then surged in, straight at Link. Link saw this, and began to think that his doom was nigh...

Instead of impacting and buffeting him though, the mass seemed to fuse with his body of its own will. The pain Link felt in his entire body intensified seven-fold. Now, Link felt his limbs shifting, his bone structure changing. He felt as each bone broke, melted, fused, and repeated many times until his body was an entirely different shape. He felt as each muscle fiber tore and reattached to and melded each other to conform to the new bone structure. Link came to the realization that this process was actually quite familiar to him, something he had done dozens of times before, although the strange being that was absorbed to his body was new. The mass's appearance did remind him of something from the Twilight though...

Link was abruptly forced back into reality; the pain had ceased. He took a few moments to take stock of his limbs; they were precisely as he expected. Link walked over to the lake which had been so close to get a look at his reflection. He did see much of what he expected; a large wolf with an impressive mane peering back at him. However, he also saw something else, something that made him worry about his new situation greatly; his mane and eyes were glowing with the same hue of the mass that had apparently caused this transformation. The glow did fade a few moments later, but it was still cause for concern.

All of a sudden, Link heard rapid hoof beats form valley, coming from the direction that he and Epona had been facing before he was knocked off. He promptly realized that it was no doubt Epona herself. When Epona arrived, she saw what had become of her master; she remembered the first time this had happened all too clearly.

"Return home." Link said, "Ilia will take care of you."

"Where are you going?"

"To get Colin."

* * *

**How did you like it? If you have any form of an answer to that question, please do leave a review. If you do not like the way this is going, I will never know unless you tell me, so please do! Even if you do like the way it is going, I would appreciate a review to know that I am doing this right! If you happen to have any advice instead, I would also appreciate that! I will be back later, although I am sure I would return with a new chapter more frequently if someone left a review... *wink wink***


	8. Chapter Seven: The Start of a Battle

**Hello all! I am back, so I hope that you lot are ready for another chapter! I am sorry that I did not get back sooner, but I underwent and incredibly stressful period of time, although not for any apparent reason. I am through that now, so I am able to get back at this now! Also, we should all take a moment to appreciate those who are fighting for our countries. In America, the tenth of November is Veteran's Day, but we should all recognize that which the men and women in the armed forces are doing for us.**

**The Disclaimer; I DO NOT own The Legend of Zelda series (or any/all subsidiaries thereof), Nintendo DOES own The Legend of Zelda (and any/all subsidiaries thereof). Any OCs involved in the story are my intellectual property. The cover art for this FanFiction series is credited to kinokashi at DeviantArt.**

**Acknowledgments:  
****Amanda  
FaolanLupa  
Skuldette**

* * *

_Hush now, young children. It is time for the next portion of our tale. You have hear the beginning, you have heard to halves of the next part, and now it is time for our story to continue. Be still now, and listen..._

* * *

If one were to stand in Faron Woods on such a day, one would most likely notice the blatantly abnormal details. The sky, although it was a clear afternoon, seemed to let naught but the bare minimum of light reach its destination on the ground. The wind, though it did not touch the trees or bushes, seemed strong enough to buffet a Goron considerably. The animals, though usually noticeable by both sight and sound, were invisible and unheard. If one were to stand in Faron Wood on such a day, one might think that Armageddon had come.

One might have even noticed the grey blur streaking though the woods, if only for a few seconds.

The grey blur was in the form of a large wolf with grey fur, streaked with white. It had a mark, formed by white fur, on its face; it was a diamond with a dot in the center, with the lowest corner of the diamond becoming a long streak that reached down its muzzle. This wolf was, without a doubt, Link in his beastly form. He was speeding through the forest with a speed that rivaled that of a Lizalfos' strike.

After leaving Epona, Link took off at full speed into the depths of Faron Woods. He was headed for a place that few knew existed, and fewer still knew the location of it.

Legends told of a witch that lived deep within the Faron Province. She was a woman older than the kingdom of Hyrule and practiced dark magics and necromancy. According to folklore, she would kill intruders on sight and then resurrect them to serve her for eternity.

Link and the Royal Family alone knew of her location and the truth of her; she was actually one of the few remaining members of the Sheikah tribe. In fact, she was one of the founding members, having been present since the War on Demise. She had been tasked by the Goddess Hylia with keeping certain secrets of the Sheikah alive, and so was immortal. However, quite mysteriously, she had become quite a shriveled old woman. She did practice certain magics, but they were of the pure and helpful sort, such as healing and prophecy. The Royal Family often sought the advice of this old woman, who was the original Impaz, in times of chaos and disorder. After the conclusion of the Twilight Crisis, Zelda had also tried to convince Link to seek the advice and wisdom of Impaz so as to return him to a healthy mental state, though Zelda never could manage to get Link to leave his home.

With the knowledge of her presence and power in mind, Link sped towards her with all due haste, knowing that he would need her help if he were to get to Colin in his current form. He could have once simply asked Midna for help, but that was no longer an option...

When Link finally arrived in Impaz's section of the Sacred Forest, he found, to his surprise, that she was already waiting for him.

Impaz greeted him before he had a chance to act: "My, my. You really cannot seem to stay out of trouble, can you?"

Unable to reply in terms comprehensible by humans and similar beings (the Hylians, the Sheikah, etc.), Link simply huffed at the sarcastic remark.

"Now, now, there is no need to get like that, I can help you. I can, with ease return you to your normal form. However, you have a decision to make."

Link simply gave the old lady a deadpan stare.

Deeming it wise to continue, Impaz then said, "Colin is in imminent danger. I can teleport you near his location right now, or I can undo this transformation; I do not have enough strength to do both so close to one another. If I change you, you will not likely make it to Colin in time."

Link continued staring.

"Well? Have you decided, or are you going to just keep staring at me like that?"

Unable to speak, Link simply barked sharply.

"Oh. Right. Alright then, bark once if you want to go to Colin, twice to transform."

With no hesitation or delay, Link put out a single bark, which echoed and resounded throughout the clearing so that it seemed as though a thousand canines had barked.

"So be it."

Impaz began chanting in a strange language; each word resonated throughout Link's entire being, each syllable laced with power. When she finished the chant, the whole area seemed to lack any form of sound.

"This should get you pretty close to Colin," she said, "You should land on the ground. Or close to it..."

Clearly alarmed at what she said, Link looked at her, more than a little worried.

"Fear not, I am sure you will not die. Probably. You may experience a stinging sensation upon landing though..."

Before Link could have any more second thoughts about this mode of transportation, Impaz apparently finished her spell, because Link was suddenly flying through a tunnel of what appeared to be a series of gears lined up face to face, although not quite concentric, nor quite touching.

Just as suddenly as he appeared there, Link was abruptly in the air above the desert. At first he though that he was a considerable distance up, far enough to kill upon impact. However, he quickly realized that the lines formed by the crevices were to long and wide for him to be that far up. That, and the fact that he hit the ground within a few seconds of arrival. While he was not too far up, he was still several meters up in the air; far enough to make the landing sting, to say the least.

After a few moments, Link collected his breath and his focus and rose from the ground. He took a look around to get his bearings; he was a small distance from the base of the Arbiter's Grounds. With a saddening shock, the events that concluded the Twilight Crisis came to the fore of his mind. Reflexively, he simply pushed them to the back of his mind; someone needed to be saved. Again. He had no time to harbor such thoughts.

Looking closer at the ground between him and the Arbiter's Grounds, he realized that the remaining bulblins must have returned here so as to regroup with their king. Their entire base from the Twilight Crisis had been rebuilt, with the exception of the open air camp that had been out front. However, the camp was much more fortified this time; the walls were higher, the towers thicker, and he could hear that pairs of guards had been posted rather than lone guards, and more numerously as well.

However, Link was not in the mood to be trifled with. He noticed that the gate itself had been made stronger, but the bar across the inside was not terribly thick. With this in mind, he took a running start directly at it and slammed into it head first.

The bar inside split apart with little resistance, and Link charged straight into an army of bulblin.

* * *

**Here it is! I am somewhat content with this chapter, although, as usual, I am quite sorry about the delay! Please do leave a review if you particularly liked or disliked something! By the way, if anyone has any handy pointers on how to write a battle scene, I would be delighted if you sent them my way. Handy pointers in general will also be greatly appreciated.**


End file.
